The effect of angle of attack on the generated wave propagation

Abstract

The presented work is an experimental investigation into the waves generated by a pressure source moving in a straight channel. Wave fields generated by the moving pressure source are described and the effects of angle of attack on the generated wave height, surfable wave quality, drag and vertical forces are presented. The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the angle of attack and the generated wave height across the towing tank width and the surfable wave quality. The investigations were conducted at the Australian Maritime College towing tank on a wavedozer at four different attack angles at various speeds. Three wave probes were installed across the channel to record the generated wave heights. Based on the experimental results, it was concluded that smaller angles of attack produced higher quality surfable waves compared to larger angles of attack, while the height of the generated wave has a direct relationship with the angle of attack. By comparing the forces for different models, it was concluded that the pressure source with the lowest angle of attack has the minimum drag but maximum displacement.